There’s a “good reason” that pubs have long steamed clams in beer, said Miami’s James Beard Award–winning chef Michael Schwartz, in Michael’s Genuine Food. “The malty flavor adds an extra roundness to the broth,” and the whole environment brightens. Try it at home and “your kitchen will smell amazing!”
Set in its pot at the center of the table, this is a great dish to serve family-style—as either an appetizer or a main course. It’s how I like to eat when I’m at home with my family. The communal pot “encourages sharing,” allows for people to ��reach across the table without hesitation,” and makes the food itself a topic of conversation.
Serve the recipe below with roasted vegetables, sautéed greens, and crusty bread to create a complete meal. The “sweetness of the clams, the licorice essence of fennel, the salty-smoky depth of bacon, and the slight bitterness of the stout make this a complex and flavor-packed dish.”
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Recipe of the week
Stout-braised clams with potato, fennel, and bacon
¼ lb thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
¼ lb fingerling potatoes, cut into ½-inch chunks
½ small white onion, cut into ½-inch chunks
1 fennel bulb, halved, cored, and cut into ½-inch chunks (first remove the stems from the bulb, and reserve the fronds)
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
24 littleneck clams, well scrubbed
1 cup stout
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp unsalted butter
Place a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. When pot is hot, add bacon and fry until crispy, roughly 4 minutes. Reserve rendered fat and transfer bacon onto a paper towel.
Add potatoes to rendered fat and cook, stirring, until potatoes get a little color and start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add onion, fennel bulb, garlic, and pepper. Continue to cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Raise heat to high. Toss in clams and pour in stout and stock.
Give everything a good stir and cover pot. Steam until clams open, 5 to 8 minutes, discarding any that do not open. Stir in butter and sprinkle reserved fennel fronds on top. Serve from pot, ladling portions at table. Serves four.
Roasted Cauliflower With Parsley Sauce
1 head cauliflower (2 to 3 pounds) cut into florets
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup firmly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
2 anchovies in oil, drained
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
For cauliflower: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put cauliflower in mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread cauliflower on baking sheet and roast, shaking pan halfway through cooking, until tender and slightly charred, 40–45 minutes.
For sauce: Put parsley, capers, anchovies, garlic, pepper, and oil in a blender. Puree until smooth and bright green. Sauce should be wet and slightly soupy.
When cauliflower is ready, return to bowl and toss with ½ cup of the parsley sauce until coated evenly. Serve hot. Makes four to six servings.
